Centrifugal governor



Sept. 26, 1939. w. B. THIEMANN ,30

CENTRIFUGAL GOVERNOR Filed May 10, 1957 Patented Sept. 26, 1939 UNITESTA'i'Efi PATENT FFIE 4 Claims.

It is the object of my invention to provide an improved centrifugalgovernor which may be easily and quickly attached to any one of a numberof different makes of automobile engines,

without the installation of complicated supporting brackets.

A further object of my invention is to provide a governor of the typeabove described, so constructed that it may be applied to either side ofan engine and adapted to make connections with the throttle valve of thecarburetor supported either forwardly or rearwardly of the governor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a governor having meanswhereby the governor may be manually controlled and set to cause theengine to which the governor is attached to be operated at any one of anumber of predetermined speeds.

A further object of my invention is to provide gimproved means forlubricating the working parts of the governor and for enclosing theworking parts to protect them from dust and foreign matters.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combinationof the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated areattained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims,and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved governor, a portion of theoperating levers being broken away.

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the same.

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 44 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is an end elevation of the governor showing one of the bracketsfor supporting the same.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatical view showing the manner in which thegovernor is applied to a 45 segmental portion of an engine.

In the drawing I have used the reference numeral If! to indicate thegovernor casing, which is preferably formed of a short section of atube, the ends of the tube being closed by end members i l 50 and l2,said end members being provided with centrally and outwardly extendingflange portions to form hubs It for supporting ball bearings 14,

said hubs having caps it for retaining packing l6 adjacent to the endsof the ball bearings l4.

Rotatably mounted longitudinally and centrally through the casing iiiand within the bearings 14 and through the caps l5 1 have provided atubular shaft i'l, said tubular shaft having diametrically oppositelongitudinally extending slots l8. Supported on the shaft ll is a sleeveor bracket [5 5 having laterally projecting lugs 25 arranged in pairs,each pair of lugs being provided with a governor arm l pivotallysupported therein by means of pivots 22, the inner ends of the arms 2!extending through the slots It in the manner illustrated 10 in Figure 2,the outer ends of the arms being provided with arcuate portions 23 toform suitable weights for the governor,

Slidably mounted in the tubular shaft I1 is a short shaft 24 having itsouter end resting against 15 the inner ends of the arms 2 I. Supportedon the shaft H is a'sleeve 25 having an outwardly extending flange 25 onits outer end, the sleeve 25 being provided with a bolt 27 extendingthrough the slots [8 and the shaft 25 so that the sleeve and said shaftmay be moved longitudinally of the shaft il in unison.

Rototably mounted on the sleeve 25 is a collar 28 having laterallyprojecting and diametrically opposite pins 29. A collar 3!! is providedon the 25 inner end of the sleeve 25 and fixed thereto. Ball bearings 3!are supported between the collar 28 and the collars 26 and 39, thecollar 28 providing means for moving the sleeve 25 and the shaft 2dlongitudinally in the manner hereinafter de- 30 scribed. A spring 32 isalso supported by the shaft 1 I, having one end resting against thesleeve 25 and its opposite end against a pin 33 projecting through theslots l8, and a shaft 34 also slidably mounted within the shaft 11. 35

slidably mounted in one end of the shaft H is a shaft 35 having itsinner end near the outer end of the shaft 3d, said ends being separatedby means of a ball 35. The outer end of the shaft 35 is provided with aslot 31! for receiving the lower 40 end of an operating lever 38, thelever 38 being mounted between links 39 by means of a pivot 30. Thelinks 39 are pivotally connected to the upper end of a clamp device 5!mounted around the hub cap of the member I2, the clamp 4| beingtightened on the said hub cap by means of a bolt 42. By thisarrangementthe clamp 4| may be adjusted to various positions circumferentially ofthe said cap so that the lever 38 may be supported to extend eitherupwardly or downwardly or at any desired inclination to said verticalpositions to 'meet the operating conditions encountered when installingthe governor on an automobile engine.

By the arrangement above described it will be seen that if the upper endof the lever 38 is moved in a clockwise direction as illustrated inFigure the shaft 35 will be moved inwardly, which in turn will move theshaft 34 inwardly against the tension of the spring 32, causing thesleeve 25 to be moved inwardly against the inner ends of the arms 2i,causing the weights 23 to be moved inwardly and against the shaft I I.The device is then in its normal condition when not operating. It willreadily be seen that the speed at which the weights 23 will be thrownoutwardly may be varied by simply changing the position of the lever 38.The upper end of the said lever 38 may be connected to a hand-operatedlever 43 carried at any convenient point on the engine to which thegovernor is attached, wherein the tension of the spring 32 may be variedat the will of the operator.

Supported transversely through the lower side of the casing I0 is a pairof bearing members 44 which are welded in place and adapted to support arock shaft 45, having each end screwthreaded and its central portionprovided with a yoke 46 fixed thereto, the outer end of the yoke 46being provided with slots 41 for receiving the pins 29 of the collar 28.Either end of the shaft 45 may be provided with an upwardly extendinglever 48, to which a link 49 is connected for operating the throttle arm50 of the carburetor 5|. It will readily be seen that if the shaft I1 isrotated, then the weights 23 will be thrown outwardly, causing the shaft24 to be moved longitudinally, and with it the sleeve 25, which in turnwill cause the shaft 45 to be rocked and the lever 48 actuated, thusproviding means for automatically controlling the throttle valve of thecarburetor 5|.

The shaft I1 is provided with a pulley wheel 52 for receiving the fanbelt of the engine, thus providing power for the rotation of thegovernor.

The casing I0 is mounted to the engine by means of brackets 53 and 54,said brackets being clamped around said casing and fixed to the engineby any suitable means and to any convenient points thereon, saidbrackets being so shaped as to be connected to bolts or studs alreadyform ing a part of the engine construction, so as to eliminate thenecessity of having to drill additional holes for receiving thesupporting studs, the particular means for securing the brackets to theengine forming no part of the present invention due to the fact thatthis varies with the different types of engines to which the governor isconnected.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the governor casing may besupported on either side of the engine to a point near the carburetor tobe controlled. This is quite important due to the fact that in somemakes of engines the carburetor is supported on the right-hand side,while in other makes the carburetor is supported on the left-hand side.The lever 48 is fixed to the shaft 45 by means of suitable lock nuts 55and may be supported from either end of the shaft 45 and may be extendedupwardly or downwardly or at any other desired angle, thus providing agovernor which may be easily and quickly attached to any one of a numberof different types of engines without altering the construction of thegovernor. A pin 56 is provided for limiting the inward movement of theshaft 24 and the outward movement of the weights 23.

The casing 10 may be partially filled with a lubricant, such as oil, forlubricating the bearings supported therein, the pin 33 being purposelymade long to provide means for agitating the oil within the casing asthe shaft is rotated. Oil will then be thrown over the various bearings.One end of the tubular shaft I1 is left open so as to provide a breatherfor the governor. I find that this is necessary in order to prevent theoil from being forced outwardly through the bearings as the openingthrough the said shaft permits any pressure within the casing to berelieved due to the expansion of the oil as it is being agitated, anddue to temperature variations.

Thus it will be seen I have provided a governor of simple, durable andcomparatively cheap construction which may be properly lubricated, andprovided with a sufficient number of ball bearings so that the governorwill operate a long while without any attention by the operator after ithas been installed. The end members H and I2 and the caps I5 are formedof pressed steel and pressed into position under pressure so that thesaid end members and caps are fixed against working loose by vibration,and at the same time are so arranged that the said end members and capsmay be removed, if so desired, for repair or replacement by placing thecasing in a suitable clamp and applying suitable jacks for removing thesame by pressure. This also provides means to prevent inexperiencedoperators from tampering with the mechanism within the governor.

I claim as my invention:

1. A governor comprising a tubular casing having end members closing thesame, a bearing in each end, a tubular shaft mounted in said bearingsand extending longitudinally through said casing, said tubular shafthaving opposite and longitudinal slots, a centrifugal governor devicecarried by said shaft, including weight arms, the inner end of said armsprojecting into said tubular shaft through said slots, a shaft slidablysupported in said tubular shaft having one end engaging the inwardlyextending ends of said weight arms, a sleeve slidably mounted on saidtubular shaft, a pin connecting said sleeve and the last shaft, said pinextending through said slots, a second shaft slidably mounted in saidtubular shaft, a pin carried by the second shaft and projecting throughsaid slots, an expansion spring wound around said tubular shaft, havingone end resting against said sleeve and the other against the last pin,a third shaft slidably mounted within one end of said tubular shaft, aball between the adjacent ends of the second and third shafts, ahand-controlled lever pivoted to the outer end of the third shaft foradjusting the tension of said spring, a transverse shaft supported insaid casing having its ends projecting outwardly therefrom, a yoke fixedto the transverse shaft, means operatively connecting said yoke to saidsleeve, a speed control arm, and means for adjustably fixing said speedcontrol arm to either end of said transverse shaft.

2. A governor comprising an adjustable mounted casing, a drive shaft, acentrifugal governor device driven by said shaft, a throttle controlshaft having its ends projecting outwardly from said casing, meansoperatively connecting said governor device and said throttle controlshaft, a throttle control arm, means for adjustably fixing said arm toeither end of said throttle control shaft, a hand-controlled lever forcontrolling said governor, a pivot support for said lever, and means foradjusting said pivot support on said casing to permit the pivot supportto be adjusted whereby the hand control lever may be supported in anydesired working position.

3. A governor comprising a closed casing, a

bearing in each end, a tubular shaft mounted in said bearings and havingopposite longitudinal slots, a centrifugal governor device mounted onsaid shaft including Weight arms, the free ends of said arms projectinginto said slots, a shaft slidably supported in said tubular shaft havingone end engaging the inwardly extending end of said weight arms, secondand third shafts slidably mounted in said tubular shaft, a ball 0between the second and third shafts, yieldable means between the firstand second shafts, hand operated means for adjusting the operatingposition of said third shaft to vary the tension of said 5 spring, athrottle actuating arm, and means for operatively connecting said arm tothe first slidable shaft.

4. A governor, comprising an adjustably mounted casing, a drive shaft, acentrifugal governor device driven by said shaft, a throttle controllingarm, means for operatively connecting said arm to the governor devicewhen the casing is in one of a number of its adjusted positions ofmovement, a hand-operated lever for controlling said governor, a pivotsupport for said lever on said casing, and means for adjusting saidpivot support on said casing to permit the hand control lever to besupported in any desired position relative to said casing.

WILLIAM B. TI-IIEMANN.

